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L. A. HRKER OIL GAN.

Pmzented` Mar. 21, 1882.

A fforey N. Pernis, Pmmumugnphr. www n. c

UNITED STATES PATENT i OFFICE.

LEWIS A. HARKER, OF COLUMBUS, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF TWO-THIRDS TO CHARLES H.AMANII AND WILLIAM EWING, OF SAME PLACE.

OIL-CAN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 255,109, dated March21, 1882.

Application filed February 1, 1.882. (No model.)

To all 'whom fit may concern Be it known that I, Lewis A. HARKER, ofColumbus, in the county of Franklin and State of Ohio, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Oil-Cans; and I do hereby declarethe following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the'invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itpertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to an improvement in oil-cans, the object being toprovide an oil-can with improved construction and arrangement of devicesfor opening and closing the oil-discharge passage and the ventopening otthe can. i

With these ends in view my invention consists in certain details ot'construction and combinations of parts, as will hereinafter bedescribed, and pointed out in the claims..

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a view in perspective of anoil-can provided with my improvement. Fig. 2 is a vertical section ofthe same, and Fig. 3 is a detailed view ofthe thumb-lever anddcvicesconnected therewith.

A representsan oil-can, which may be ofany desired size, form, orconstruction.

' B is the lling-aperture, and B the screwcap covering 'the same.

C is a handle, attached to the bail C', the ends of the latter beingjournaled in the bailears a a', attached to the top ofthe can.

D is the oil-discharge nozzle or spout, and

is constructed with an enlarged portion, D,

which is secured over the oil-discharge opening E in the top of the can.The dischargeopeningE is of less diameter than that of the portion D ot'the spout, in order to form a valve-seat, F, within such enlargement D',

4o which in fact constitutes a valvechamber. That the valve-seat may notbecome bent or twisted so as to prevent the valve finding a tight seatthereon, thcspout I) is provided with a brace, G, which serves to stiienand strengthen the spout, and by preventing it from becoming bent or`twisted out of shape while a transita or in use thereby operates topreserve the form of the valve-seat.

To the under side ofthe top of the can is at- 5o tached a bracket, H, towhich is pivoted the lever I, which latter is preferably made angle'shape in cross-section, so that light and comparatively inexpensivematerial may be employed and still insure proper stiffness and rigidityin the lever for the purposes in view. One end of the lever I has thewire b soldered or otherwise fastened thereto, said wire being upwardlybent, as at c, and provided with a hook, d, which is inserted throughthe en.

larged opening c in the valve-stem fof the valve g. The valve g may bemade of leather or other equivalent material, and consists of a hatdisk, which snugly tits upon the valve-seat F. In order that the valvemay always accommodate itself to its seat, and thus insure a perfectlytight joint and prevent any leakage or escape of oil, the stem isconnected to the lever by the universal joint described, which allowsthe'valve to be self-adjustable'and fit tightly against its seat. K is a`vent-opening in the top of the can, through which is inserted the stemL, `the lower end thereof extending through the bottom h of theguide-bracket t', while the upper end of the stem is provided with adisk or stop, j.

To the valve-stem Lis secured the vent-valve K by means of the disk orequivalent device rigidly fastened to the stem, whereby the ventvalve isretained against displacement and caused to seat against the under sideof the can-top and over the vent-opening.

M is a spiral spring encircling the lower portion ofthe valve-stein L,the lower end of the springresting on the bottom of the bracket z', andthe upper end resting against the horizontal portion m of the lever l.The spring is held in proper position by means of the depending portionm ot' the lever engaging one side of the spring and the side m2 ot' thebracket. This spring serves to force upwardly one endof the lever I anddepress its opposite end, thereby keeping the oil-valve snugly againstits seat. Aspiral spring, N, encircles the upper portion ot' thevalve-stem L, thelower end ot' the spring restingl upon the top of thecan and its upper end resting against the under side ofthe disk orbutton j, and by its eX- pansive force serves to retain the vent-valveclosed against its seat. O is a thumb-lever,

constructed with downwardly-projecting ears or sides, o, through whichit is pivoted to the standard P by pivot p.' The top portion, p',

IOO

of the lever strikes against the upper end of the standard P, andthereby limits the movement ofthe lever. By depressing the thumbleverboth spiral springs are compressed and both the vent-valve and theoil-valve are opened, the vent-vale opening downwardly, admitting air tothe interior of' the can, and the oil-valve opening upwardly, allowingthe oil to be discharged from the can. Vhen pressure is removed from thethumb-lever the spiral springs serve to close both valves.

The construction and arrangement ofparts is simple and durable, and theimprovement may be produced at a comparatively small cost.

It is evident that many slight changes in the construction and relativearrangement of parts might be resorted to without departing from thespirit of my invention, and hence I would have it understood that I donot restrict myself to the particular construction and ar-4 rangementofparts shown and described; but,

Having fully describedmy invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Extent, is-

1. In an oil-can, the combination, with the discharge-spout constructedwith an enlarged portion, D', at its lower end, said enlarged portionbeing secured to the top of the can over the oil-discharge openingformed therein, whereby the top of the can serves as a valveseat, of adownwardly-closin g valve loosely arranged within said enlarged portionof the spout or nozzle, and suitable levers for actuating the valve,substantially as set forth.

2. In an oil-can, the combination, with 'the dischargespout constructedwith an enlarged portion, D', at tslower end, said enlarged portionbeing secured to the top of the can over the oildischarge opening formedtherein, whereby the top of the can serves as a valve seat, of the downwardly-closing valve loosely arranged within the spout, and levers I andO and connecting devices, the rod b, and universal joint connecting thevalve stem and rod, substantially as set forth.

3. In an oil-can, the combination, with the bracket secured to the underside ot' the top of the can and the vent-valve stem working through thelower end of the bracket, of an angle-shaped lever, I, and a spiralspring encircling the valve-stem, one side ot the spring having abearing on the side of the bracket and the other side ofthe springhaving a bearing on the vertical portion of the lever, substantially asset forth'.

l1'. The combination, with the vent-valve and stem, ofthesupporting-bracket, the two spiral springs, and the thumb-lever,substantially as set forth.

5. Thecombination, with thevent--valvestem and spiral spring N,encircling its'upper end, ofthe thumb-lever 0 and standard I), thelatter constructed to form a stop and limit the upward movement of saidlever, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

LEVIS A. BAKKER.

Witnesses:

CHAs. H. AMANN, W. C. MAXI-Inno

